Donk bass Sound design help

Creations & Ideas
1

I’m trying to craft a bass sound similar to the one in this song. Some people refer to it as a “donk bass” or “hard bass.” Despite experimenting with various configurations, I haven’t quite nailed the characteristic sound. Are there any resources or guidance that could help me achieve this?

Here are some of my current approaches, with input from an AI assistant:

Attempt 1: Using :dsaw

live_loop :donk_pattern do
  use_synth :dsaw
  play 50, release: 1, attack: 0, cutoff: 70, detune: 0.1
  sleep 1
end

Attempt 2: Using :tb303

live_loop :donk_bass do
  use_synth :tb303  # Classic acid bass synth
  use_synth_defaults release: 0.2,
                      cutoff: 80,
                      res: 0.7,
                      env_curve: 7,
                      attack: 0.01
  play 40
  sleep 1
end

Feedback and Guidance

I feel like I’m missing some key elements to recreate the punchy, bouncy character of a proper donk bass. Any advice, tips, or resources to help me refine this would be greatly appreciated!

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2

Adding a slight slide upwards might get you a bit closer:

live_loop :donk_pattern do
  use_synth :dsaw
  s = play 30, release: 0.4, attack: 0, cutoff: 70, detune: 0.1, sustain: 0, slide: 0.1
  control s, note: 32
  sleep 0.3
end
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3

Hi
I’m no sound designer, or donkadonk expert, but it sounds like a fairly resonant and broad bandpass filter, quite vocal midrange too. Maybe look at :bpf fx?

HTH

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4

Hi! That’s a fun sound. I am not a proper sound designer either, so corrections/clarifications are welcome.

To me, the sound is strongly reminiscent of slapping the end of an open pipe. The best way to synthesize this would be with a physical model (digital waveguide). SuperCollider has terrific libraries for this, but unfortunately I’m not currently smart enough to code a custom SynthDef.

But we can approximate it in Sonic Pi using the :square synth and a quickly enveloped low-pass filter:

# quick simplified sketch of Davay - Tri Poloski

use_bpm 160

define :donk do | n, a = 2 |
  with_fx :lpf, cutoff: 100, cutoff_slide: 0.5 do | lpf |
    use_synth :square
    use_synth_defaults release: 0.25
    if n != :r
      play n, amp: a
      play n + 19, amp: a * 0.4
      control lpf, cutoff: 10
    end
  end
end

live_loop :donk_bass do
  pat = [:r, :ef2] * 3 + [:ff2, :af2] + [:r, :af2] * 3 + [:ff2, :ef2]
  donk(pat.tick)
  sleep 0.5
end

with_fx :krush, mix: 0.3 do
  live_loop :drums, amp: 0.2 do
    tick
    sample :bd_fat if spread(1, 8).look
    sample :sn_zome, rate: 1.2, finish: 0.3 if spread(1, 8).look(offset: 4)
    sample :hat_cats, amp: 0.7, finish: 0.2 if spread(1, 4).look(offset: 2)
    sample :hat_tap, amp: 0.7
    
    sleep 0.25
  end
end

Why :square? To my ear, it sounds like the sound is mostly (or entirely) odd overtones, which is characteristic of square waves. (I don’t remember whether that is consistent with the physics of a slapped tube, as I conjectured above—a quick web search suggests it’s not?? Hmm.)

I also hear a very strong 3rd harmonic, which we can approximate by just playing a second note at +19 semitones (i.e., an octave + a fifth above the fundamental), at a somewhat lower volume. Cheap trick, but it sort of works, right?

Suggestions for improvement?

5

I agree. Definitely some comb filtering present, which is why i suggested a high resonance factor. Easily achievable in SC, less so perhaps in Sonic Pi. But a filter is just a sophisticated delay line, so bpf might work, with a very fast sweep on the centre frequency.

I don’t have access to SPi atm - my MacBook died :sob:! - so i cant offer any practical examples.

PD-Pi

6

Hi
I finally got myself back in front of Sonic Pi, and I evidently have NO idea what I’m talking about :person_facepalming:

The example pashultz gives above is very convincing, and I cannot ‘improve’ upon it.

PD-Pi

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7

Thank you, everyone! Testing each solution and experimenting has been incredibly insightful for me. I feel that @pashultz came very close to achieving the sound I was aiming for. Every approach you shared has given me fresh ideas to explore and new directions to research.

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